Sam Rethmeier has spent over 20 years in the hospitality industry, working at acclaimed restaurants  like Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado and Chi Spacca in Los Angeles. In 2017, he was hired to run the wine program at République and Bicyclette in Los Angeles, where he oversaw an inventory of over $850,000 with annual sales of over $2.25 million. After four years at République, Sam left to start Respite in order to help restaurants run profitable wine programs.